The Quatermass Book-Reading Blog 9: On Cloud Nine...

Post Reply New Topic

Book 45...

REVIEW: Monster volume 8: My Nameless Hero by Naoki Urasawa

Ah, it's so wonderful to keep going with Monster once more! After so long without it, coming back to it is refreshing, and I intend to keep going until the very end of the series this time. As I near the halfway point of the series, though, will it begin to falter? Let's find out...

Dr Tenma is obsessively training, readying himself to kill Johan Liebert, even if it means sacrificing everything he believed in. But he's not the only one obsessed. Lunge is still after him, and his attempts to get into Tenma's mindset are proving deleterious to his career and life. Johan himself is working steadily to not only erase his past, but also every ounce of morality in those around him, persuading children he knows to play a perverse game of chicken on rooftops. The stage is set for a showdown when Schuwald announces a donation to a local library, and Tenma is determined to kill Johan there...

Once more, the story is of high quality, but is also broken into so many parts that it's not quite at the level of the previous volume. Which is a shame, really, given that we have so many good stories, like a tale of Johan influencing young boys into rooftop duels in a perverse game of 'chicken', as well as Tenma making friends with a Vietnamese teenage back-alley doctor. And we get the hints of a big event to come, with Tenma planning to assassinate Johan at a library.

Tenma is shown beginning to sink into darkness, and while not actually going off the deep end, he is shown to be both optimistic about others, but beginning to get darker in his obsession with killing Johan. Johan himself probably gets his most humanising moment, outside reuniting Schuwald with his bastard son Karl: he is shown to have a bad reaction to a children's book, and he is seen to be in distress for the first time. Lunge also gets more development, when we are shown how truly obsessed he is with emulating Tenma's psychology, even going so far as to stand up his daughter when she tries to reconcile with him so that he can understand Tenma's social isolation. We also have many other interesting apparently one-shot characters, like an ancient ex-Nazi with a lot of guilt, or the aforementioned back-alley doctor.

The eighth volume of Monster, while not right up there with the very best of the series, nonetheless maintains the high quality of the series. And it's dragging me along for the ride to the end...

9/10

First words: I think we should call it a day...

Last words: And we'll be closed tomorrow for the ceremony.

Book 46...

REVIEW: Alan Wake by Rick Burroughs, from the game written by Sam Lake and Mikko Rautalahti

I enjoy survival horror video games, and of late, I have come to Stephen King's horror novels. And I am also a writer, albeit one not yet published. So with a novelisation of a video game about a horror novelist struggling to survive in a desperate situation, I should enjoy it, right? Let's find out...

Alan Wake has suffered from writer's block for the past two years, and to compensate, his wife Alice takes him to the small town of Bright Falls, to get away from it all. But when Wake finds that his wife has booked him in for work with a therapist who specialises in treating the creative, he gets angry. But while he leaves the cabin, Alice is kidnapped by dark forces, and soon, Alan finds himself fighting them. Infected by shadows, creatures known as the Taken assault Alan relentlessly, but they're not his only worries. A kidnapper has demanded a new novel from him as ransom for Alice's life, an FBI agent is determined to get Alan dead or alive, and Alan is finding pages of a manuscript he doesn't remember writing. At the centre of it all is Cauldron Lake, dark and mysterious, with enigmatic beings dwelling deep within...

Okay, so the story for Alan Wake is a pretty good one. It's a nice piece of psychological horror, and one that really explores the relationship between writing and reality. In fact, it would be an excellent novel, if it weren't for the prose. Unfortunately, Alan Wake is apparently the first book for Rick Burroughs, and it shows. I have read other debut novels like Apocalypse Cow and Half-Sick of Shadows, and the prose was much better. Which is a real shame, really. Some of the prose does make it to a decent level, but the rest of it needed fleshing out, badly, even for a novelisation.

The characters are fairly good. I did find it rather hard to like Alan Wake at first, who seemed a bit too much like a prima donna writer, but he grew on me. The other characters are fine, but not stellar, though I am not sure how much of it is an artefact of the novelising a game. Certainly obsessed FBI agent Nightingale needed a touch more fleshing out, and there were characters with potential that were criminally underutilised and underdeveloped. The Dark Presence and its host were written fine, though, at just the right level.

Alan Wake was unfortunately a rather average take on novelisations, and I don't mean ina good way. It's a good enough story, and okay to kill some time with, but I just wish that it had been novelised by someone with a tad more experience.


7.5/10

First words: Wake didn't see the hitch-hiker until it was too late.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 47...

REVIEW: Monster volume 9: The Nameless Monster by Naoki Urasawa

Monster is a manga series like no other, continuing to impress and enthrall me. But now, as I finally reach the halfway point, I have to wonder how much longer it can keep things going. But last volume indicated that something climactic was about to happen, and so I had to at least read to this point...

Tenma has resolved to kill Johan during Hans Schuwald's book donation ceremony, unaware that Johan has his own plans in place. And Schuwald is aware that Johan is up to something, he just doesn't know what. Meanwhile, Nina Liebert and Lotte discuss Johan, and the myserious picture book, The Nameless Monster, that Johan had a bad reaction to. All of it comes down to a frightening confrontation in a burning library. And soon, even the obsessed Lunge will come to believe in the existence of Johan Liebert as something more than a crazed splinter of Tenma's psyche...

Whoa. This volume of Monster is virtually flawless. This could easily have been the end of the series itself if it was necessary, but it also serves to raise further questions about Johan's origin. Exciting, thrilling, and cerebral enough in equal terms, with much of the third chapter of this volume dedicated to a twisted children's book, The Nameless Monster. that obviously has strong connections to Johan's dark past, as well as that of his sister. It certainly makes sense of the seemingly nonsensical, insane statements that the otherwise cold and calm Johan had left for Tenma before.

We get glimpses into Tenma's past, and he gets more than a few moments of badassery in a duel against Roberto, while Johan's plan for Schuwald is brought to a chilling conclusion. We finally see the beginning of Lunge believing in Johan's existence as a person separate from Tenma, and thus the beginning of his redemption. Nina, Reichwein, Dieter and Tenma's former colleague Dr Gillen also get time in the sun.

Overall, the ninth volume of Monster, and its halfway point, is justification for me continuing with this series to the very end. Utter perfection, and utterly enjoyable, and utterly thrilling.


10/10

First words: ! !

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 48...

REVIEW: Watching the Watchmen by Dave Gibbons with Chip Kidd and Mike Essl

For me, along with so many other people in the world, Watchmen is one of the key works ever in the graphic novel medium. An intelligent work that deconstructs the superhero, it stands above many other works that tried and failed to mimic it. So it was about time, sooner or later, that I come to Watching the Watchmen, by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons, whom I met earlier this year at a convention. The making of the original comic series should be good, but is it?

Watching the Watchmen tells the tale of Watchmen from beginning to end. It begins with Alan Moore being introduced to Dave Gibbons by Steve Moore (no relation), then touches on the projects they collaborated on, before the fateful day when the conception of Watchmen, initially as a storyline involving characters from Charlton Comics, then as an original story. Story outlines and artwork progression are reproduced lavishly, and we see the process of how the comic was drawn to life...

There is no doubt that Watching the Watchmen is an excellent and lavishly produced book. It's fascinating to see how much the characters changed, or didn't change, during their creation (Rorschach, for example, had a full bodysuit with the blot pattern, and a 'flasher' coat over it, for a long time before this was altered), as well as to see the thought processes that went into the writing and art of Watchmen. We get a sense of the history involved in the making of the series, as well as the popularity that blossomed after production.

But I am still left more than a little dissatisfied. There was a lot of controversy surrounding Watchmen, especially given Alan Moore's attitude to the work, or at least how DC Comics treated it. Dave Gibbons did state that his intention was to avoid discussing controversy, to avoid airing dirty laundry, and this is perfectly understandable. But on the other hand, I was fully expecting a comprehensive history of the making of Watchmen and its aftermath, so I felt, if not actually cheated, then less than sated.

Overall, Watching the Watchmen is an excellent book, let down only by a lack of substance. A crying shame, really, as it is a great book about a great book.

9/10

First words: In 1980, Marvel Comics held a comic book convention at the Royal Horticultural Hall in Central London.

Last words: Keep smiling.

Book 49...

REVIEW: Monster volume 10: Picnic by Naoki Urasawa

After the ninth volume of Monster, I had to wonder, where exactly could it go from that point? Okay, the story wasn't exactly resolved, but a lot of the mysteries had been apparently tied up. And yet, there were a few unanswered questions. Or so I thought. But as I begin delving into the second half of the series, I find that there are far more questions to come...

Dr Tenma isn't the only person digging into Johan Liebert's past, and 511 Kinderheim. Wolfgang Grimmer, an investigative journalist who helps Tenma cross into the Czech republic, also has his own agenda. Driven by a painful past to help orphaned children, Grimmer pursues former 511 Kinderheim director Michael Pedrov, trying to get answers out of him. But Grimmer finds that the remnants of the program that created 511 Kinderheim still lingers, and poking his nose where it doesn't belong will get him into trouble. But Grimmer has a dark secret of his own, a secret that will bring him into conflict with the police, including the corrupt Inspector Zeman, and the well-meaning Inspector Jan Suk...

Once more, the emphasis in this installment of the story is off Dr Tenma and on other characters. This time around, it's handled rather well, with Wolfgang Grimmer's story being the most engrossing. We also get hints of yet another conspiracy around Johan, one that has its claws deep within the Czech police, although I cannot say that I am as enthused yet for the chapters featuring Jan Suk.

It is Wolfgang Grimmer who holds the limelight of this volume of Monster. He seems to be an extraordinarily likeable man, albeit one with a dark past, and a dark side. It is all but stated that he has a murderous split personality, and yet, despite this, he retains the reader's sympathy throughout, as he is a genuinely likeable man, and severely screwed up. Jan Suk is a different matter. I cannot confess to liking him that much so far, although time may tell whether he will grow on me.

The tenth volume of Monster, while not reaching the heights of its immediate predecessor, nonetheless manages to retain a level of high quality that I have come to expect from the series. Here's hoping for the next volume...


9.5/10

First words: HA HA HA!!

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 50...

REVIEW: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

If there is something Neil Gaiman is, it's a refusal to be defined. While his books could be called fantasy in many regards, they are somehow genre-crossing, or even genreless. He has written horror, humour, fantasy, science fiction, and often a combination of many if not all of these in his now decades-long career. So it is fitting that for my 50th book for this current book-reading blog that I read and review his latest, and perhaps most personal work, The Ocean at the End of the Lane...

Coming back to a former hometown for a funeral, a man wanders the town, coming across the old farm of the Hempstocks. There, he remembers events that occurred four decades ago, when he was seven. The child knew the three Hempstocks. To them, a duckpond is an ocean, and time happens to other people. The Hempstocks are the self-appointed guardians of the world, but soon, something awoken by the suicide of a lodger with the child's family awakens something dark and deadly, something that insinuates itself into the family in the form of babysitter Ursula Monkton, something that turns the child's entire family against him. The Hempstocks may be able to help, but the solution might turn out worse than the problem itself...

It's hard to define what this book is. It's not quite a children's book, though it does take a lot of cues from his previous work Coraline, as it has many strong themes that seem out of place in a children's book. But neither is it quite an adult book, as it's all about the magic of childhood fading into adulthood. It's quite disturbing and harrowing to read at times, but it's nonetheless an excellent fable. I get the feeling that Gaiman wanted to create a fairytale version of his own childhood, and it certainly feels like one of his more personal works.

The narrator is intriguing enough, though I do find it a little hard to be sympathetic towards his family. Not believing your son that your new babysitter is a horror from beyond space and time is all very well, but one sequence involving the father of the narrator is rather harrowing, and its only Gaiman's later words on the matter that give me any sympathy for them, though it is still obvious that they are manipulated by Ursula Monkton. Monkton herself is another variation on a horrid creature out of Lovecraft that Gaiman enjoys (Coraline, The Sandman, Neverwhere, etc), and her end, despite Old Hempstock's opinion of Monkton not inspiring hate, is justly deserved. However, it is the Hempstocks who are the most interesting, a revisit of the triple female goddess Gaiman used so much in The Sandman, and a new take on it.

The Ocean at the End of the Lane may not be for everyone, but it's an excellent story as far as I am concerned. A bit harrowing in places, but it doesn't overstay its welcome, and it refuses to be pigeonholed. It thus joins the hall of fame of perfect books as far as I am concerned...


10/10

First words: It was only a duckpond, out at the back of the farm.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 51...

REVIEW: Monster volume 11: Blind Spot by Naoki Urasawa

From strength to strength, Monster seems to go to consistently. Every volume serves to build anticipation for the next, and it is one of the consistently high-quality manga ever to be produced. And now, the story begins to take an even darker turn, if that's even possible, with the eleventh volume...

Detective Jan Suk finds himself caught up in the conspiracy around Kinderheim 511, and it seems that his best hope of surviving long enough to find out about it is to team up with the haunted journalist Wolfgang Grimmer. Unfortunately, their enemies soon catch up with them, but so too do potential allies. Dr Tenma assists Suk and Grimmer, the latter then revealing that he too is a graduate of Kinderheim 511. Meanwhile, Nina and Dieter are on their own mission of discovery in Prague, but Nina is disturbed to find people calling her 'Anna'. For Johan, for reasons of his own, has taken to dressing up as his twin sister. But the most disturbing revelations are yet to come, as Tenma and Grimmer are forced to work with a member of the very conspiracy they're fighting, and Nina's darkest memories are unearthed...

We're back once more to a part of the story where Tenma is involved, and where we also begin to dig just a little bit deeper into the Kinderheim 511 conspiracy. Although not many answers are forthcoming, we start to get some disturbing revelations, with Johan revealed to be cross-dressing and imitating his sister in Prague, and Nina herself getting disturbing memories that begin to hint at her unravelling sanity. It's thrilling, yes, but it seems a bit odd that Karel Ranke, the mysterious ex-Czech secret police officer, would attempt negotiations after his men have attacked Grimmer and Suk, and it sticks in the craw.

Tenma and Suk are characterised well, with this volume explicitly comparing the two. It is perhaps Wolfgang Grimmer who is of most interest, being, like Johan, a graduate of Kinderheim 511, but despite being possibly insane (and having a split personality), comes across as one of the most sympathetic characters, with his discussion with Tenma about his schooling ("What do you think was the hardest to learn? How to smile.") being heartfelt, despite the fact that he delivers it with such a broken, put-upon smile. Johan is getting ever more disturbing, and his sister is starting to unravel as she unravels her own past.

Not perfect by any means, but the eleventh volume of Monster nonetheless manages to do well in almost every area. And I intend to stick with it to the bitter end...


9.5/10

First words: This signboard?

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 52...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: The Ghosts of N-Space by Barry Letts

Perhaps one of the most influential producers in Doctor Who's history was Barry Letts. Originally an actor who became a director (and directing the Patrick Troughton story The Enemy of the World), Letts became not only the producer of the series for almost all of Jon Pertwee's time as the Doctor, but also cowrote four stories with Roger Sloman (The Daemons, The Time Monster, The Green Death, and Planet of the Spiders), as well as working as executive producer during John Nathan-Turner's first season. He was also brought back in the early 90s to write a pair of Doctor Who radio plays starring Jon Pertwee as the Doctor, Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier, and Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah. With all four now sadly deceased, it's perhaps fitting that I read the novelisation of the second of these radio plays, The Ghosts of N-Space...

The Brigadier's Uncle Mario is the Barone of an island off the coast of Sicily, and the Brigadier has been called in as a favour to help his uncle stave off the unwanted predations of American gangster Max Vilmio. Sarah and her colleague Jeremy are on holiday too, and they follow the Brigadier to see what he's up to. And soon, the Doctor, summoned by the Brigadier, comes to Sicily as well. For Mario's castle is haunted by ghosts of all kinds, and worse things are being seen. The Doctor soon realises that the source is N-Space, the nearest equivalent to an afterlife in the universe, and its worst denizens are wriggling through a potentially disastrous breach, a breach Max Vilmio intends to exploit...

While many elements of The Ghosts of N-Space can be seen as successors to similar themes seen in The Daemons, the story does offer an intriguing pseudoscientific explanation of the afterlife. Indeed, a lot of the story is good in concept, but it's the execution that lets it down slightly. There's a lot of running around through time that doesn't quite feel justified to me, and there are more implications in the prose than out and out explanation. And there are one or two things that could be charitably considered old-fashioned.

I think part of the problem is that the Doctor and Sarah don't quite sound like they do on TV. The Brigadier does, and the deviations from the norm for the Doctor and Sarah are somewhat acceptable. But the other characters is another matter. Jeremy is, as he was in The Paradise of Death (both audio and books), an annoying prat. Vilmio is a decent enough villain, but pretty standard too, and his motives in taking over the mafia group at the start isn't quite clear. Maggie seems to be a dumb moll, a bit quick to change sides.

Overall, The Ghosts of N-Space fell annoyingly a little below par for the series. Not so much that it was actually bad, rather, I'd prefer that it would have been better. A shame, really.


8/10

First words: Don Fabrizzio had great hopes that it would not be necessary to kill Max Vilmio.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers.)

Book 53...

REVIEW: Monster volume 12: The Rose Mansion by Naoki Urasawa

Now, I reach the two-thirds mark as I go through Monster. What can I say about this series that I haven't already? Probably nothing, so it's about time that I go straight into the review...

Dr Tenma and Wolfgang Grimmer continue their investigations in Prague, but they're not the only ones. Taking a vacation, the driven Inspector Lunge, beginning to accept the existence of Johan Liebert, is doing some investigating of his own. Meanwhile, Johan, masquerading as his own sister, continues his malicious manipulations. And soom, the law will catch up with Tenma...

This story doesn't quite keep up the standards of the last few volumes, but then again, this is a rather misleading comparison. The twelfth volume of Monster is still good, with Johan causing yet more depravity, and with hints being slowly uncovered as to his past. It's just not quite as good as the previous few volumes.

Tenma doesn't get quite as much development, although we are reminded how much he has affected people in the closing chapter, while Johan continues to plumb the depths of depravity. He sends a young orphan boy to find his mother in the red light district in order to drive him to despair. Said boy, Milosh, along with Grimmer and Lunge, probably get the most development of the story.

Overall, while not quite at the level of the previous volumes, this volume of Monster still maintains a high standard for the series.


9/10

First words: He's on vacation?

Last words: HA HA HA!!

Book 54...

REVIEW: The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, volume 4 by Nagaru Tanigawa and Gaku Tsugano

So, I've finally come back to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I have got a copy of the original book in the series, but for the time being, I've come back to the manga series. Any pithy comments before I continue? No? Well then, let's go on...

Life in the SOS Brigade is full of trials and tribulations when you're trying to keep a teenage girl with reality-warping abilities and an immature nature from being bored. Even so, when Haruhi Suzumiya changes the logo of the SOS Brigade, nobody expects trouble. But trouble does arrive, causing disappearances. And a trip to an isolated island during the summer might turn out badly, especially when Haruhi begins yearning for a mystery, a mystery that might end in murder...

Okay, I have to admit it, I'm starting to get bored with the series. It's still got more than a few interesting bits, but it's starting to feel a bit samey. Which is a shame, really, as it's a series with potential. It's just not fulfilling it.

There's very little character development here. Haruhi is the same annoyingly sociopathic girl, although the last story does hint that she draws the line at causing murders, even unconsciously. Nagato gets some development, and we have a bit of background about Kyon and his family. But otherwise, it's rather disappointing.

I am not sure whether I'll continue with the manga series of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. I'm just starting to get a bit bored with it, though it still manages to be moderately entertaining.


7.5/10

First words: I've got the gist of what you're saying.

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 55...

REVIEW: Monster volume 13: The Escape by Naoki Urasawa

Well, do I have any further comments to say about Monster before I continue with the 13th volume in the series? Well, other than I hope that it isn't an unlucky number for the series, I have nothing. Well, on we go...

Dr Tenma has been arrested in Prague. His former patients, believing wholeheartedly in his innocence, hire top lawyer Fritz Verdeman, who is partnered with Alfred Baul, to help Tenma. But Verdeman is unaware that Baul is none other than Roberto, Johan Liebert's fanatical underling and vicious killer. Meanwhile, the self-centred Eva Heinemann falls in with Dr Reichwein, torn between testifying to help Tenma get free, or letting him rot in prison for the slights she imagines he made against her. And the driven Lunge continues his own investigation into Johan. But soon, it might be a moot point, for Roberto is targeting Eva, and in order to help her, Tenma intends to escape custody...

Well, what can I say about this series that I haven't already? It's brilliant, thrilling, and with twists and turns every which way. Perhaps the biggest revelation is that Roberto survived the events in the ninth volume. Tenma's escape doesn't quite go to plan, either, with the resolution being an interesting one. I just feel that there's a lack of development for the actual 511 Kinderheim plot, though.

Of all the characters here, we get a major insight into three. Eva Heinemann, who is vicious and vindictive and makes people want Johan or Roberto to shoot the b***h, perhaps gets the most, with some subtle character development that shows her on the road to redemption. Verdeman, introduced in the previous volume briefly, gets some development as well, with a potential link to 511 Kinderheim through his father. And most of all, we have the development of rather ratty but mildly endearing serial escapee Gunther Milch.

Overall, the thirteenth volume of Monster is pretty damned good, and I hope to get through to the end before long.


9.5/10

First words: ...is in custody in Prague.

Last words: ...are you trying to say?!

Book 56...

REVIEW: Doctor Who: Speed of Flight by Paul Leonard

Not more than a couple of days ago, I read and reviewed another Doctor Who book starring Jon Pertwee's Third Doctor. But The Ghosts of N-Space was a little disappointing. I wanted something a little meatier, something a little less staid. Well, my next Doctor Who book to be reviewed, Speed of Flight, is certainly not staid...

Mike Yates and Jo Grant are set up on a blind date by their UNIT colleagues, but they aren't interested given the deception involved. Instead, they decide to join the Doctor on a trip in the TARDIS to Karfel. But instead, they end up on the mysterious world of Nooma, where the natives have a bizarre reproductive cycle, the Sky is a living object, and there are multiple Suns, with many of them dying. The Doctor ends up caught up with the ambitious Epreto, while Jo is about to become a pawn of the Dead, and Yates is about to die...

Long, long ago, I once read Paul Leonard's first Missing Adventure novel, Venusian Lullaby, and it was pretty bloody weird, although it also managed to create a believably alien race. The same praise goes to this story. The aliens seem alien by their nature, and indeed, it seems slightly less than a standard Doctor Who book and more of an experiment in science fiction. This is not a bad thing, and the only real problem I have with the story is that it's a touch too simple in the end.

The main characters do feel like they came off the screen, albeit in a somewhat generic manner, with only the Doctor truly feeling like himself. The other characters are okay, albeit very alien and at times off-putting. They seem to be the weaker part of the story.

Speed of Flight is a good Doctor Who story. Not perfect by any means, but certainly an interesting experiment in the alien that the series itself rarely attempts.


9/10

First words: They'd found the fallen sun at last, but Xa didn't care about that.

Last words: Perhaps, he thought, all I ever wanted to do was fly.

Book 57...

REVIEW: Monster volume 14: That Night by Naoki Urasawa

What can I say about Monster that I haven't before? Well, nothing really, so it's on with the motley. After all, I am reaching the end very soon...

Tenma, having escaped from prison, confronts Verdeman, believing him to be an accomplice of Roberto, but he soon learns the truth, and gains vital evidence from the lawyer about Johan's origins. Meanwhile, Nina is beginning to suffer from the memories coming back to her, leading her to a meeting with puppet maker Jaromir, and a dark revelation at the Rose Mansion. Johan takes further steps to erase his past, while Dr Tenma has one last meeting with former 511 Kinderheim associate Helmut Wolfe. And finally, Eva Heinemann is drawn into the machinations of the Neo-Nazi known as the Baby and his associates, and gets a bodyguard in Martin, though in dealing with Johan and those who wish to control him, he may not survive for very long...

Jesus, this series just keeps going from strength to strength. While not as much emphasis is on Tenma, the chapters that are here are all excellent, particularly those regarding Nina beginning to remember her own past, as well as Franz Bonaparta's grotesque children's stories. It also marks the beginning of a new arc that sees the return of the Baby, the rather grotesque, diminutive Neo-Nazi, as well as the debut of Martin, though the chapters involving him seem to indicate he won't be there very long.

Perhaps the two main characters given development in this volume are Nina and Martin. The former gets dark memories dredged up by the Rose Mansion, while the latter discusses his past with Eva. However, some development is also given to Verdeman and the puppeteer Jaromir, who turns out to have a connection to 511 Kinderheim.

I have to confess, I am surprised at how often I am delighted by the high quality of Monster. Virtually no other series has maintained such a high standard of story, and this volume is one of the paragons, a perfect scoring one.


10/10

First words: Spy's kid!

Last words: I wouldn't have had to see THAT...

Book 58...

REVIEW: Gin Tama volume 1: Nobody with naturally wavy hair can be that bad by Hideaki Sorachi

Every now and then, I hear of one manga series or another that I am curious about, and decide to try it out. One of those is Gin Tama, a science fiction action comedy set in an alternate Edo Period Japan. But would I enjoy it? The proof, as is often the case, is in the reading...

Japan in the 1800s has been invaded and taken over by aliens. Humans are second-class citizens, and swords are banned. Even so, the Shimura siblings, Shinpachi and Tae, still run a sword dojo, but they are in danger of losing it, especially when Shinpachi's job at a restaurant is jeopardised by mercenary swordsman Gin, AKA Sakata Gintoki. Fate brings Sinpachi and Gin together, as they work in odd jobs, soon joined by the powerful alien girl known as Kagura, all to survive in a strange world...

I've mentioned, in relation to Naruto, another Shonen Jump manga series, that series published by that magazine are often the equivalent of fast-food: entertaining, but not necessarily deep. Gin Tama, at this moment, seems to be following in similar footsteps. I'll admit that the concept is an intriguing one, and is inspired partly by history, and the story itself was entertaining enough, but otherwise, it doesn't quite feel like it's getting to a point where it is stellar.

Many of the characters do feel like I have seen them done before in previous manga series. Gin is an amusing, but rather unremarkable protagonist, and I thought that Kagura's potential isn't quite being used yet. Katsura and the shinsengumi are rather more interesting, even in their brief appearance towards the end of the volume.

Overall, not a bad debut, but I would have preferred something a little more substantial. Shame, that.


8/10

First words: A samurai sword cannot be sheathed.

Last words: ...isn't such a bad thing, after all.

Book 59...

REVIEW: Monster volume 15: The Door to Memories by Naoki Urasawa

Now, I'm up to the fifteenth volume of Monster. I'm in the final furlong of this excellent series. So do I have anything further to say? No? Well, on I go...

Martin's story continues, as he guards Eva Heinemann on the orders of the Baby and the Baby's superior, Peter Capek. But soon, he will have to choose his loyalties between Eva and Capek, and the result may very well be fatal. Meanwhile, Nina is struggling to uncover her memories of what happened to her, and the results are becoming unpleasant. Jan Suk and Fritz Verdeman are trying to uncover the truth about the Red Rose Mansion, while three people resolve to kill Johan Liebert, the monster at the heart of this conspiracy...

I have to admit that compared to the previous volume, I wasn't as impressed, though Monster still manages to keep a high standard. Most of this story is taken up with Martin's own. We are also getting tantalising hints that the conspiracy that created Johan isn't yet through with their experiments, as well as further insight into Nina.

I have to confess that Martin's story, while interesting enough, didn't quite do it for me. I was more impressed with the development given to Eva Heinemann, who is becoming far more sympathetic than she ever was over the course of this volume, with a wonderful scene where she and Tenma discuss what happened. Nina also gets some development of a disturbing kind, while someone not yet named is a disturbingly Johan-like character who seems to be part of the conspiracy (and is said to be Johan's apprentice).

Overall, while not quite at the level of its predecessors, the fifteenth volume of Monster promises many things to come, and it's still pretty damn good, considering.


9/10

First words: What'll it be?

Last words: (Not recorded due to spoilers)

Book 60...

REVIEW: Wiped!: Doctor Who's Missing Episodes by Richard Molesworth

I am, as many of you probably know by now, a major Doctor Who fan. And yet, as many Doctor Who fans are aware, there is a multitude of episodes missing from the first years of the program. Even so, I thought I knew everything there was to know about the missing episodes, but Richard Molesworth proved me wrong...

Wiped! tells the story of how the various episodes of Doctor Who came to be missing in the first place. It tells how various reasons from rights contracts to the attitude towards television led to the BBC scrapping much of their archives, as well as how the show was marketed abroad. And it also tells the story of the recovery of many episodes, including the most recent discoveries of Galaxy Four: Air Lock and The Underwater Menace episode 2...

Now, this is a book that, to any Doctor Who fan with a decent enough interest in the missing episodes, must have. Immensely and exhaustively well-researched, Wiped! goes into detail about the whole story of the missing episodes, as well as the recovery of them. It is, at least to a Whovian or a TV historian, an immensely engrossing and fascinating work, which touches on some of the stories and myths around the recovery of the episodes.

Even so, the book, despite its excellent nature, isn't without its problems. It's unlikely to appeal to a mainstream reader, unless they enjoy reading about the history of television or about Doctor Who. And to be perfectly honest, the writing is rather dry. Okay, so we need facts, but I would've liked more anecdotes about the hoaxes, gossip, and rumours that are only really touched on in the final chapter. Shame, that.

Wiped!, while not for everyone, is a nonetheless excellent reference book about the missing episodes of Doctor Who. Not perfect, but certainly close to definitive.


9/10

First words: Doctor Who was an immense part of the British television landscape back in the 1960s and 1970s, despite the modern protests of Terrance Dicks in his introduction to this book!

Last words: And perhaps, one day I'll get to write a third edition of this very book, with wildly differing conclusions in the final chapter...